A Goodbye That Didn't Last
by Sophie Ranier
Summary: -"What we had was great. And I will never forget it." she smiles at the memories, which she assumes will soon be lost. "Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, McGee, you…you are all a part of me now." Her smile is not as forced now. Tiva. One-shot. Tags to Judgement Day Pt2


**Just a little Tiva one-shot. Set almost immediatly after Judgement Day Part II. **

* * *

There is a soft knock at the door.

She exhales slowly, too tired to deal with guests. She waits a moment, folding another top quietly in hopes the intruder would just leave. But the knocker is persistent, giving another steady knock.

Ziva has a pretty decent idea as to who it is; and it's the reason she does not want to answer.

She wanders to the door anyway, her feet moving quietly against the hardwood floor, making as much sound as a nimble mouse. Her hand lingers on the doorframe for a moment, in which time he knocks again. And he is about to give up when she finally answers, his stomach churning as the door handle does the same.

"Tony." She breathes his name; her smile is more of a nervous twitch.

"You kinda just left." He points out twisting his lips to the side of his mouth.

She nods knowingly, but nevertheless regrets it. "I never was very good at saying goodbye." she picks out her flaw with sadness.

"Yea, but this is," he breathes, his eyes searching the floor for a moment before locking onto hers. "_Goodbye_."

"Well, I would hope we will keep in touch." Her voice is soft, almost hopeless.

"Maybe we will." He leans against the doorframe.

Ziva smiles a mirthless smile. "You know Gibbs is going to get you back, most likely McGee too. You will be a team again." She knows it, he knows it. The agent afloat position is only to last a few months and with McGee being so close, it is only a matter of time before Gibbs talks Vance into getting his best geek back. But that left Ziva.

"He's gunna get you back too." He says hopefully.

She breathes a laugh. "I do not think so. The liaison position is extremely hard to acquire, especially in an agency as specific as NCIS. And my father would prefer having me close."

"Gibbs'll work something out, I mean isn't your dad close with Vance?" He wants to say more but she stops him.

"Tony…" she shakes her head, but her face is of forced content. "What ever happens, there is a very small possibility that we will be a team again." And they both hate how sure she sounds. "What we had was great. And I will never forget it." she smiles at the memories, which she assumes will soon be lost. "Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, McGee, you…you are all a part of me now." Her smile is not as forced now.

He lets out a sharp exhale. "So that's it."

Her lips curl inwards in agreement and she nods.

"Then let's at least leave with a bang."

And with that, he leans forward. There is not much room in between them to begin with. His lips touch hers, softly, just telling her that he's there.

She is surprised, but her tighten expression soon loosens when he places a warm hand on her cheek. He pulls back, their noses touching, and in an silent agreement, an extreme force of nature that is beyond their understanding, their lips are once again wrapped in each others, more passionate this time, but just as slow.

Ziva pulls him in by his tie and she allows him hands to wander around her curves, his soft touch locking her to him.

Her hands are loose around his neck as his fingers make their way up her hips, pulling the soft fabric of her shirt with them. She knows where this is leading but she is too caught up in bliss to think about the consequences.

* * *

It is nearly two in the morning before she speaks to him.

Neither of them have gone to sleep; the thought has not even crossed their mind. Tony holds her securely in his arms, his hand absently traveling from her wrist to her shoulder and back down, over and over again. Her hand is over his chest, and she can just feel his heartbeat, but the tingle she is receiving from his fingers on her arm and his feet entangled with hers is distracting, a good distracting.

But she is sad to speak. "You should go." Her voice is weak. He can sense that it took some time for her to finally say it.

"What?" he is obviously shocked at her suggestion.

"It is better if you leave now." She takes a deep breath as his fingers stop midway down her arm.

He lets out a pathetic laugh and rolls over to meet her eyes, which are empty now. "I should just…go?" he clarifies harshly. "So this meant nothing to you?"

"No, Tony." She takes his hand, holding it gently. "This meant everything." Her words are passionate and truthful, he can tell. "But now that is has happen, it is harder to leave." Her voice cracks. He wonders if he has ever heard her sound sad. "But waking up tomorrow like this…to what could have been…it will make it impossible."

He looks down at their interlocked hand solemnly. "So this is goodbye?" she unlocks her hand from his and instead wraps it around the front of his. Slowly, she brings it up to her chest, right above her heart.

He can just barely feel the steady thumping against her bare chest and her warmth only adds to the emotion running through his veins. She looks up at him sweetly, her beauty intoxicating him through her smile. His hand travels slowly up her neck and to her cheek, all the time her hand still wrapped in his. He makes it to her cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of her delicate lips.

He avoids her lips; she is right, it's close to impossible now. Instead, he places his lips to her forehead, and she closes her eyes, savoring the moment.

"Shalom Ziva."

"Ciao Tony."

And somewhere inside, they know it's not goodbye forever. Because it never will be.

* * *

**So...*pokes*what did you think?**


End file.
